NEW HOME, Texas (KCBD) – The New Home Leopard baseball team are rounding out their 2025-2026 season holding up the 2A Division 1 State Championship trophy after defeating #10 Iola 7-2 in the title game on Thursday at Dell Diamond in Round Rock, making them the final Extra Innings Team of the Week of the season.
Prior to this State Championship title, the Leopards had been unable to clinch the State title with six trips since 2018, but this year they would not be denied.
New Home opened up the title game with Iola taking the 1-0 lead before the Leopards would explode in the bottom of the first with five runs. Junior infielder Bransen Beckham got the scoring going for New Home after doubling to left centerfield to score in Tucker Cotton and Hunter Burrell. Jair Johnson would add to that 2-1 lead with a sacrifice fly. Brock Bessire followed things up keeping the bats hot with a base hit to make it a 4-1 game before Iola had one of three errors making this one a 5-1 ball game in just the first inning.
The Leopards kept that going into the second inning, it’s the 2AD1 All-Tournament MVP, Bransen Beckham again, this time a base hit that plates Burrell and Ryder Starkey as New Home took the six-run lead.
In the 6th inning, senior pitcher Avin Madrid had a huge out to end the inning, Iola with two runners on and two outs and he picked the runner off at first to end the inning, keeping this one a 7-2 game in favor of the Leopards. Madrid would close out the game snagging a grounder with the throw to first to Tucker Watkins for the final out, letting the New Home celebration begin.
Junior pitcher Tucker Cotton started on the mound for the Leopards, going four innings with four strikeouts, allowing two runs off three hits.
New Home wins the 2AD1 State Championship title with the 7-2 win over Iola, their first baseball state championship in their 6th trip to state. The Leopards had four athletes on the 2A Division 1 All-Tournament team including MVP – Bransen Beckham, pitcher Tucker Cotton, catcher Hunter Burrell, and short stop Ryder Starkey. New Home finishes their season with a 30-8 overall record.
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